In some communications systems, such as the communications system known as 3rd Generation Partnership Project-Long Term Evolution (3GPP-LTE), there are communication system resources, such as subchannels, that can be allocated to one or more users for simultaneous multiplexed transmission on an uplink communication link to a base station or other similar communication device. In order to obtain certain desired signal characteristics, the communications system, e.g., in terms of an air interface specification, may require or place certain constraints on uplink transmissions from users.
In a wireless communications system, channel conditions can vary from user-to-user, and from one subchannel to another for the same user. Therefore, there may be combinations of channel resource allocations to particular users that impact communication system efficiency as measured by metrics such as transmit power and effective bit rates. Additionally, concepts of fairness in allocating communication resources to facilitate service to all users, ensure that system efficiency is not the only goal considered in allocating communication resources.
Therefore, the problem of allocating communication resources to users can become quite complex when considering fairness, system efficiency, and allocation rules and constraints in the process of allocating, for example, sets of subchannels to users. By one estimate, in a system with 24 subchannels allocated among 10 users, computing the impact on system efficiency or capacity for each possible user/subchannel allocation would require on the order of 23 billion operations.